Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“Miss Jaina, I’ll go get some ice cream, so wait here.”

As Rosian rose from his seat, Arnen muttered to himself:

“Fortunate timing. I had considered dealing with that brat Rosian too, but…”

Regardless of being Elia’s son, Rosian was still a child.

He would be no match against numerous knights, so Arnen had planned to seize this chance to humble his arrogance.

“No, this works out better. He is the Crown Prince after all, so mistreating him could escalate matters unnecessarily. Go on, make haste!”

As the hesitant knights swarmed forward, Arnen stretched out his limbs with a few exaggerated cracks.

‘Apart from my mother can’t be called a hero, I’m far superior to that fool Rosian in every way – looks, swordsmanship skill, you name it.’

He then noticed the knights surrounding Jaina.

The chubby-cheeked child seemed even smaller when encircled by the burly men.

“Hey brat, why are you alone while the adults are away?”

“Hand over anything valuable you’ve got, nice and easy.”

Any child would naturally feel threatened when confronted by a horde of intimidating, muscular men.

The knights closed in, backing Jaina against the wall.

“Um, I…”

“Accosting a mere child like this…”

Though onlookers watched from afar, fearing potential repercussions prevented them from intervening directly.

Observing the bystanders’ fearful expressions, Arnen flashed a satisfied grin.

‘It’s about time for her tears to start flowing.’

He surmised the most impactful moment to interject would be once Jaina was sufficiently terrified to the brink of sobbing.

“Why so silent? Can’t understand what we’re saying?”

“Tsk, do we really need to teach you how dangerous the world can be for a brat like you?”

With the knights surrounding her, Jaina’s expression remained obscured from Arnen’s view, leaving him increasingly impatient.

‘Quite some time has passed, yet no signal? I explicitly told them to give a sign once she started crying.’

They must have forgotten his instructions, the imbeciles. Despite his emphatic reminders, not a single one seemed to recall that simple directive.

Growing vexed, Arnen strode forward purposefully.

“Ugh, urghh.”

“Gwaahh.”

However, instead of the cowering damsel awaiting her dashing prince that Arnen had envisioned, he found only a single, expressionless girl remaining.

“Your men are rather poor actors, it seems.”

Amidst the fallen knights, Jaina casually dusted off her hands as she remarked:

“I take it you sent these people after me?”

“Wh-What? How could a child possibly overcome elite knights…?”

“Elite knights? Well, I suppose their stances were properly formed. I nearly failed to recognize their amateurish caliber.”

‘Amateurish caliber’?

These were not simply elite knights, but the imperial guards handpicked to safeguard the royal family itself!

Jaina continued nonchalantly:

“Since I merely coalesced the winds to subdue them, their lives shouldn’t be in any danger. In any case, what prompted you to send knights after me in the first place?”

“I didn’t do such a thing!”

Arnen vehemently denied the accusation. Yet Jaina’s expression remained utterly unfazed.

“They all identified you as their instigator.”

“…!”

Inwardly cursing, Arnen attempted to defend himself:

“I meant no ill will!”

“If your intentions were benign, you would have simply sent the entire knightly order after me, no?”

“I-I only did it because I… because I admire you… I merely wished to impress you!”

Unable to admit ‘I tried to steal your heart to savor a sense of victory over my cousin Rosian, who seems to genuinely care for you,’ Arnen obfuscated the truth.

“I thought appearing as a dashing prince to rescue you would surely win your favor!”

Without changing her polite countenance, Jaina cocked her head in a bemused tilt.

Her chilly response prompted Arnen’s temper to flare as he let out an indignant growl, unconsciously biting his lip.

“Besides, when did I ever catch your eye?”

“That’s because… it was love at first sight for me… But I promise, nothing like this will happen again…”

“Did I give you any impression that I would be seeing you again?”

Though inwardly chanting ‘Damn wench,’ Arnen persisted in his pleas:

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m a prince who can grant your every desire!”

His status as a prince was the attribute Arnen took the most pride in.

“I don’t normally apologize. But for you, I’ll make an exception. If there’s anything you want, I’ll buy it for you. Anything you wish, I’ll make it happen.”

Then, with a sullen expression, he implored:

“So couldn’t you forgive me, just this once…?”

Yet Jaina curtly rebuffed him without the slightest hesitation:

“I never asked for anything.”

“…”

“In any case, I doubt you’re even capable of a proper apology. Let’s end this here.”

Abruptly cutting off the conversation, Jaina turned to follow the direction Rosian had departed.

Panicking, Arnen hastily grabbed her hand.

“Don’t go!”

Contrary to his outward demeanor, Arnen inwardly wore a smug smile.

‘Wasn’t I rather dashing just now?’

As a member of the esteemed Delaide imperial lineage, he considered himself second to none in terms of looks.

‘Surely even a young girl would be flustered to have a handsome older boy take her hand like this?’

Yet contrary to Arnen’s expectations, Jaina remained utterly indifferent.

‘He’s being such a nuisance, suddenly appearing like this.’

For she held little interest in outward appearances.

Moreover:

‘Those blue eyes are hardly a match for Lord Diamid’s, despite the shared color.’

Jaina inwardly compared Arnen to others she knew with similar eye colors.

Regrettably, he paled in comparison to Rosian, Diamid, and even Mikael in every aspect.

‘What arrogance fuels his self-assuredness about his looks?’

Having been exposed to exceptional beauties in her circles, Jaina found herself unswayed by mere appearances.

Beyond acknowledging their comeliness, she felt no particular stirrings towards them.

‘His personality is the greater issue. Deploying his own guards in a bid to curry favor? And failing to properly apologize afterward? The complete opposite of Prince Rosian.’

With a resigned sigh, Jaina’s gaze roved over Arnen’s features with increasing dissatisfaction.

‘Not to mention that glazed look in his eyes, devoid of any intensity. That low-bridged nose and poor complexion too… Are we even certain he carries the imperial bloodline?’

As Jaina scrutinized Arnen with an increasingly critical eye, he seemed to misinterpret her focused gaze, letting out a smug chuckle instead.

‘I’m surely better looking than Rosian, aren’t I?’

“By the way, what exactly is your relationship with the Tower Lord…”

Arnen was attempting to continue their conversation when a familiar voice rang out:

“Arnen. Why are you here?”

Turning, they found Rosian glaring at them icily, two ice cream cones in hand.

“Miss Jaina, did this brat do anything untoward to you?”

“Wh-What? I simply approached Miss Jaina because I was taken by her charms.”

Arnen emphasized his words by raising the hand still grasping Jaina’s.

This only seemed to incense Rosian further, his expression darkening.

“I was aware you don’t like me, but you’ve resorted to stalking Miss Jaina as well?”

Rosian’s unusually menacing aura, so contrary to his typically laidback demeanor, caused Arnen to break out in a cold sweat inwardly.

‘Why is Rosian making that face all of a sudden?’

Without realizing it, Arnen had released his hold on Jaina’s hand.

Yet he refused to admit feeling momentarily cowed, instead raising his voice defiantly:

“Our parents wed at sixteen, with a betrothal at twelve. Shouldn’t I start seriously considering marital prospects myself?”

“Miss Jaina is still too young.”

“Hmph, unless you intend to make her a Crown Princess consort, you have no right to dictate who I pursue. You, as Elia’s son, can hardly choose your own bride either way. I intend to properly court this girl.”

“C-Crown Princess…?”

Rosian’s earlier ferocity seemed to instantly deflate at those words.

As the now silent Rosian gazed at him quizzically, Arnen noticed a flush creeping over the prince’s cheeks, reddening them like ripe strawberries.

“P-Princess consort, you say? That’s…”

Remarkably, Rosian seemed utterly flustered.

The ever-cocksure prince, caught so off-guard in any situation, was an unprecedented sight to behold.

Shielding his embarrassed face with his arm, Rosian began backpedaling.

“N-No. Why are you both staring at me like… Arnen, you stay away from Miss Jaina!”

Rosian’s sudden outburst startled Arnen into a momentary stillness.

Observing the two, Jaina regained her usual composure to remark:

“In truth, I’m an adherent of lifelong bachelorhood…”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Rosian echoed in disbelief.

“Didn’t you previously mention an ideal partner type?”

“I did, but these days I feel marriage would be pointless.”

Arnen attempted to interject:

“But for a woman, having a man is essential…”

“Enough with the nonsense that might upset Miss Jaina. Leave us.”

Reverting to an icy glare, Rosian stated bluntly:

“I’m well aware you only encountered Miss Jaina by tailing me.”

“Th-That’s…”

Cowed by this unfamiliar, intense side of Rosian, Arnen could only hastily retreat.

“…”

“Your Highness?”

After Arnen’s departure, an awkward silence lingered between them.

Rosian would part his lips as if to speak, only to avert his gaze whenever meeting Jaina’s eyes before closing his mouth once more.

Eventually, it was Jaina who broke the stillness first:

“What was it you had wanted to tell me earlier?”

“Ah, I… I… had wanted to say that I view Miss Jaina as…”

Staring into the distance with a wistful sigh, Rosian admitted:

“…Like a younger sister, I believe.”

Jaina blinked her eyes in surprise.

“A younger sister?”

Yet Rosian’s grave expression showed no signs of abating, as if something had gone awry.

However, he soon heaved another deep sigh before relaxing his features with a slight smile.

“Though of course, I can’t presume Miss Jaina views me with similar closeness…”

“No, I do regard Your Highness as someone very dear.”

Reassured by Jaina’s warm smile, Rosian finally returned a shy grin of his own.

“By the way, it seems the changes haven’t been one-sided. Miss Jaina has grown considerably taller and more matured as well.”

“I feel it is Your Highness who has undergone the greater transformation?”

“Is that so? Then let’s aim to grow so much by our next encounter that we become unrecognizable to one another.”

Yet Rosian’s phrasing carried an odd undercurrent, as if hinting at an impending departure.